Arkansas’ May revenues exceed revised forecast

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas’ revenues for May were up 0.3 percent from a year ago and 20.5 percent above the recently revised forecast, state finance officials said Friday.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced in late April he was cutting $70 million from the state budget for the current fiscal year because revenues were lagging below forecast. On May 2, the state Department of Finance and Administration officially revised the forecast to reflect that reduction and lowered its revenue projection for the fiscal year that begins July 1 by $43 million.

Net available general revenues in May totaled $339.2 million, which was up $1 million from a year ago and $57.8 million above the revised forecast.

Individual income tax collections last month totaled $209.4 million, which was down $7.6 million, or 3.5 percent, from May 2016 and $11.3 million, or 5.7 percent, above the revised forecast.

Corporate income tax collections in May totaled $33.4 million, which was up $24.4 million from a year ago and $400,000 above the revised forecast.

Sale tax collections last month totaled $192.4 million, which was up $20.8 million, or 12.1 percent, from May 2016 and $7.6 million, or 4.1 percent, above the revised forecast.

With one month left in the fiscal year, net available general revenues for the year to date total $4.78 billion, which is down $49.1 million, or 1 percent, from a year ago and $57.8 million, or 1.2 percent, above the revised forecast.